Did Fear Of Playing Wisconsin Force Nick Saban To Retire? Luke Fickell (Jokingly) Weighs In

Did Nick Saban retire in order to avoid a trip to Madison to play the Wisconsin Badgers.

Saban decided to walk away after this last season, and the former Alabama leader will go down as the greatest coach in college football history.

As a Wisconsin fan, I was really disappointed to see Saban leave for one simple reason:

Alabama is traveling to Madison in September, and I've had the date circled on my calendar since it was announced years ago. I'm making the trip to Camp Randall (stay tuned for some fun stuff from the ground), and was eager to see Saban stroll the sideline as his Crimson Tide played my beloved Badgers.

Unfortunately, I'll have to settle for Kalen DeBoer. I even speculated that maybe Saban retired because he didn't want to play Wisconsin.

Luke Fickell jokes about forcing Nick Saban into retirement.

Well, believe it or not, head coach Luke Fickell was asked that exact question during an appearance on the "Kings of The North" podcast.

"I'm sure. I'm sure that had a lot do with, you know, he just hasn't quite said that. He was in Congress the other day. He didn't bring it up, but I'm sure that it was in the back of his head of some sorts," a clearly entertained Fickell responded when the theory was floated to him.

You can watch his reaction to the theory below starting around the 11-minute mark, and hit me with your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

The fact Fickell was (jokingly) asked about forcing Saban into retirement is awesome. This is what fans crave. I almost wondered if the interviewer was just reading my tweet.

Unbelievably funny. To Fickell's credit, he handled it like a bro and rolled with it. What else should he have done? Been super serious?

That would have been a mistake. Life is short. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Luke Fickell jokes about possibly forcing Nick Saban into retirement. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

Again, I can't tell you how pumped I am for September 14th. Plane tickets are book, hotel is booked, family travel plans are made and excitement is off the charts. The military would be needed to stop me from entering Madison for the game. Hell, that might not even be enough.

Is it a bummer Saban won't be coaching against Wisconsin? For sure, but all that matters now is beating a Kalen DeBoer Alabama team.

Hopefully, Fickell is up for the challenge. At the very least, he has a solid sense of humor.

Finally, let's take a moment to remember one of my best troll tweets ever. Hard to believe it's already been roughly a yard and a half since I hit send on this gem.